As I was taking the time to reflect upon a few key ideas that sparked my interest in Chapter 6 entitled: “Sugar’s Revolution” from the book entitled: “An American History, Cuba” (Ferrer, 2021), I appreciated to learn of Cuba’s first female novelist: Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda (Ferrer, 2021, p. 72). I also reflected upon her fathers prediction of Cuba being ” ‘seized by blacks’ ” (Ferrer, p. 72). Within the contexts of the paragraph similarities are drawn from the example of Haiti.
From this historical prediction we can think about the current / present state of the United States of America – to reckon that every “race” has a specific place within the population at-large. And that sometimes more or less, specific populations groups are silenced or even become targets.
There has been much historical and present work done to improve human rights and equality. I imagine individuals to be able to float together, sailing harmoniously upon this journey that we call life. In-keeping with this metaphoric image, it is important to recognize the unique identity of nations, in this case – America. Thus; the historical formations of America matter. Hence; the conquests of the Spanish, the interactions with the indigenous, the freedoms achieved from slavery, the arrival of the settlers, pilgrims, and much more to include that you welcome to add as well (Ferrer, 2012; Gibson, 2014; Gibson, 2019). In this way we are aware that America’s formation also includes being named as a land of immigrants.
Today there is still much more to contend with, especially to place emphasis upon the U.S. Southern Border and the complexities that surround migrations from South and Central America. I think that there is much truth with the idea of mass-migrations and its ability to partake in the social molding and future prospects of nations (van Riemsdijk, Marchand &, Heins, 2021). For instance: The USA Afghan refugee evacuations missions from the Eastern Hemisphere and the arrival of Ukrainian refugees from Europe. With the inclusion of these nations we see the death carnage of the Globe. Such as from the recent Turkey Earthquake and the frequency of mass-shootings within the homeland. The most recent of El Paso, Texas, the Michigan State University shootings and the Georgia shooting. All which truly affect the human psyche, to further note how do we contend with the Gun violence epidemic?
It is with these thoughts I urge for more thoughts and reflections upon the idea of “seizing” (please see paragraph 1). As to also note how modern-day hijacking of nations is more than the physical acts of terrorism, but even within our human relations. Sometimes we have to sacrifice who we love to safeguard our nation. God Bless You and God Bless America.
Further Questions:
- How does uneven Global development mitigate / unsettle populations within country?
- How will migration (s) affect or influence political Governance?
References:
Ferrer, A. (2021). Cuba: An American History. Scribner.
Gibson, C. (2014). Empire’s Crossroads: The Caribbean from Columbus to the Present Day. Pan Macmillan.
Gibson, C. (2019). El Norte: the epic and forgotten story of Hispanic North America. Atlantic Monthly Press.
HEART’S, FOREVER. (2022, November 2022) Book Reflections | ” ‘CUBA: AN AMERICAN HISTORY’ ” Ada Ferrer. https://hearts-forever.com/2022/11/27/book-reflections-cuba-an-american-history-ada-ferrer/
Micheline van Riemsdijk, Marianne H. Marchand & Volker M. Heins (2021) New actors and contested architectures in global migration governance: continuity and change, Third World Quarterly, 42:1, 1-15, DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2020.1857235
Image 1 – Pexels free images with wordpress.com
Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on February 18th 2023. All views and opinions are my own and are cited as per required. Thank you for your continued readership.
With Love & Kindness! 🇺🇸
{HEART'S, FOREVER!} 